


Is that your very complicate way of asking me out?

by NCC_1019



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, First Meetings, Hedge Witch Eliot, Hedge Witches AU, M/M, my take on their first kiss in 3x05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 07:57:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19269010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NCC_1019/pseuds/NCC_1019
Summary: Queliot Week 2019 Prompt 2: Hedge WitchesQuentin hates being somewhere he's never been before and asking the hedge witches of New York for help is not something he enjoys. But then again he is here to help and not to make friends, right?





	Is that your very complicate way of asking me out?

It had been years since Quentin had left the campus of Brakebills. The last time it seemed was when his dad had died and Quentin had to organize the funeral. That was shortly after he graduated. He hadn’t known what to do with himself after he graduated. He hadn’t known what to do with himself after that. His grief had consumed him and found a good companion in his clinic depression. Those two together had been a bitch and he hadn’t left his room for days on end. At some point Julia had come in and without a word dragged him out of his room and into Dean Foggs office. There they told him that he was to teach a class at Brakebills effective and immediately. 

It had pulled him out of his stupor and had given him something to focus on. It had felt good … it still felt good to share his knowledge. He loved it when his student finally got a difficult spell. He loved the energy on the campus, all of those student high on their own powers and the endless possibilities. And even if he wasn’t part of it anymore, even if he had seen to much to still believe that everything would turn out ok, it was nice to be around them. And he could really obsess over finger positions and spelling and the pronunciation. He often was too absorbed by his work to get out and if he wasn’t, he just didn’t have the energy to go out and deal with people or with mundanes. He liked his life here on the campus.

Now however … he needed help and the only one who could get him that help were the hedge witches of New York and wasn’t that embarrassing. Penny23 had approached him. He and Julia, who were a couple now apparently, had figured that there was a dimentual rift that was slowly getting bigger and would cause this reality to collapse. To close it, it needed all the magic possible – that’s why they needed the hedge witches. And apparently they needed a key to focus their energy – a key forged by both a magician and a hedge witch. 

Dean Fogg had chosen him to go on this quest. Quentin still didn’t understand why he was chosen. Julia was a stronger magician and Alice was not just stronger but so much more intelligent than him. They had dated through all of school. They had broken up afterwards, real life hadn’t been to kind to their relationship. But they had rekindled their relationship once more after Quentin had started teaching at Brakebills and got his life together. It had felt more like old familiar and safe not like they were in love anymore. For Quentin it was better than being alone. In the end Alice had broken up with him because she wanted to travel the world and see what she could do. She wanted to develop her magic and Quentin just couldn’t follow her there. His life was at Brakebills and he was comfortable with that. 

So now he was on his way to the hedge witches of New York away form Brakebills on a quest. What the hell was he doing here, god he had no idea what he was doing. The quarter of the hedge witches was an old storehouse, the front was run down and it vaguely smelled like piss. Quentin wanted to walk away immediately. Instead he sighed and entered. It wasn’t what Quentin had expected. The inside was well furnished, the walls were in a natural color and there where two couches. On those two couches sat four people, two woman and two men. One of them, looking normal but rather excited, stood up and approached him.  
“Hello there. You must be the guy from Brakebills , I’m Josh. This is Fen, Kady and Eliot.” Quentin was already done with this.  
“Hello. I’m Quentin Coldwater.”  
“Quentin Coldwater?” Eliot asked with so much indignation in his voice it was palpable. God he was hot, tall with black hair. He had a way of moving that was so easy and elegant. Quentin ignored the question.  
“So this is it? This is the group?”  
“No, our leader Margo is in the back room. She is still discussion things with Freak Foggy.” Kady sounded bored but here eyes took in every move Quentin made. 

At that Margo left the room.  
“We are more than capable to do a bit of damage. As you guys keep pointing out – size doesn’t matter.” At that Josh started to talk but one glance from Margo made him shut his mouth.  
“At fist it was the plan that I would go with you to forge the key but there are things that need my attention here. I’ve just spoken to Fogg and he agreed that there was some preparation to be done for the ceremony. So I’ve decided that Eliot will go with you.”  
Until then Eliot had settled back on the couch and had taken up a magazine which he flipped through without showing great interest. His legs dangled over the edge of the sofa and now and again he took up a glass filled with an amber liquid. It might've have been ice tea but Quentin suspected it was some kind of whiskey. When Margo mentioned his name Eliot slowly looked up. He deliberately put down the magazine and put his legs back on the ground.  
“Margo, sun of my life, could I just talk with you in private.” With that he rose and left the room while giving Margo a very significant look. She sighed and motioned Quentin that he should wait there with a sloppy hand gesture before following Eliot out of the room. 

Quentin just stood there awkwardly and had no idea what to do next. He tried taking in the room without meeting anyones gaze. He felt so awkward and was already battling anxiety. He just wanted to go home, forget that this had ever happened and be left alone. Now and again he could hear Margo and Eliot talking in the other room but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. He mindlessly played with his hands touching his hair and face more often than he should. He desperately wished for his cards, but he didn’t have them with him. At Brakebills he didn’t need them all the time. Brakebills was so familiar to him now that he seldom felt awkward anymore and so he normally left them in his room and seldom trained with them anymore. After all card tricks pale in comparison to real magic. He also had no idea how to talk to those people and if he was honest at the moment he didn’t want to talk to them.

“Please do sit down.” Josh said out of the blue gesturing towards the sofa Eliot had previously inhabited. Josh was sitting in front of him.  
>He is not that cute.< Margos voice traveled through the closed door and Quentin turned red without knowing if they actually discussed him. It was highly likely though. He quickly made his way to the sofa and promptly tripped over his own feet, falling onto the sofa face first. He slowly turned and pretended he didn’t just crash land out of the blue face first onto the sofa. Thankfully everyone else ignored it as well.  
Josh started talking as soon as Quentin has regained some of his composure but Quentin didn’t really listened him. He started with something about that they were searching for new members and that Fen had recently joined the group. Then he talked about Brakebills and how he really wanted to just get a look at it and learn so much more about magic and maybe this was finally a chance for them to work together in the future. Even though Quentin didn’t really pay attention to Josh he was glad Josh was talking so he could think. Suddenly Eliots voice cut through Joshs speech.  
“No fucking way, you can’t expect me to to this. Make one of the others go.” There was a short silence which held so much tension that Quentin could feel it through the door. Then Eliot sighed: “Fine, fine. You win, I’ll do it. But you owe me big time.” 

With that Margo left the room and Eliot followed her looking like he was deep in thought.  
“This is decided then. Eliot will join you Quentin for the Quest.” Margo said.  
“Not to dampen the mood further but what does this quest entailed exactly. No one has told me jet. All I know is that we will need to forge a key. I can tell you now that I have no knowledge of how to blacksmith.”  
“Oh holly Veronica Mars, what do those people teach you there at your snobbish little school.”  
“Hey I’m one of the teachers at Brakebills.”  
“Then take this as the insult it was meant to be. And now quiet. This key will help us focus our magic energy when performing the spell. So forging the key is meant more as a metaphor. The key itself is a talisman that already exists. But it needs to be turned to the magic that is going to be used. Fogg informs me your discipline is minor mending. We will be mending something like a rift in the dimensions, that is why Fogg sent you. And because we hedge witches will join you for the spell a hedge witch will need to help with the key. We use magic slightly different because our approach is a bit more instinctual. Eliots discipline is telekinesis, so he is very good at focusing.”  
At that Margo shot Eliot a look and Eliot ignored her.  
“You only have two weeks to forge the key. In 14 days we’ll perform the spell at sunset. Don’t be late. When the key is ready it should hum in tune when you both perform a spell together next to it. Be careful. Eliot has the talisman and you can use my aunts house in the country for the two weeks. She is at a lengthy holiday. Off you go.”  
With a hand gesture she motioned for them to leave. But not before adding - “Oh and Eliot if you knowingly screw this up I will have your balls on a silver platter and maybe donate them to a museum. Who knows?”  
Eliot just flipped her the bird and walked out. He showed no sighed that he was effected by this turn of events or cared about the importance of their job. He just turned his head to Quentin and said “Follow me” and kept walking. So Quentin followed him to a black car and got in. Eliot, being part of the mundane world of cause knew how to drive and so they reached the house within two hours, without talking much. “I suggest that we start tomorrow with fresh eyes and minds”, was all Eliot said once they arrived at the house. He didn’t wait for Quentin standing there feeling quite lost. This looked to be even harder and more tiresome than Quentin had expected.

Quentin woke up feeling rather well rested. It had surprised him that the house, looking rather small, had two bedrooms. But it had and so neither of them needed to crash on the couch. It was early. Quentin had made a habit of waking up early, taking a shower and making breakfast. After that he usually spend an hour reading something and then making his way to his first class. On weekends he would sit down and grate papers or go for a very long walk or visit Julia.  
So he got up and after a short but almost boiling hot shower he went down to scramble some eggs. He was already sitting at the counter eating his eggs as Eliot joint him looking rough and still half asleep.  
“What the hell are you doing up at this ungodly hour of the day.” Eliot saw the scrambled eggs and that Quentin was already dressed. “Oh god you are a morning person.” There was actual horror in his voice. “I’m sorry this isn’t going to work. I think we should break up.”  
That confused Quentin. “Uhm … I I don’t … we are not…”  
“Hush. Daddy needs his coffee first. Give me an hour and then we get started on the forging.” With that Eliot took his coffee and walked out of the room.

The two of them worked on forging the key. First they sat a base by each performing magic next to it. With that they had the tune the key made. It was off and sounded like fingers on a chalk board. After that they focused their magic on the key, trying to get it to accept their magic. After a week the sound the key made hadn’t changed and Quentin was getting frustrated and anxious. That was not a good combination.  
“What the fuck. Why isn’t this working. We’ve been trying for a bloody week.” Quentin wanted to throw something but he couldn’t find something appropriate. “Why didn’t Margo give us any clue how we could forge this?”  
“Well that is magic for you. I thought you knew that. You went to Brakebills after all. Didn’t they teach you all of that?”  
“Why the hell are you so calm? Why are you not just as frustrated? We make zero process during the day and you drink yourself to sleep every night! You can’t be happy with the situation. So why are you so fucking calm?” Quentin had come very close to Eliot and their faces were only inches apart.  
“Would it change anything?” Eliots expression didn’t change. “Come on, you need a drink.” With that Eliot took Quentins hand and dragged him inside the house. There he put two glasses in Quentins hands and, after taking two bottles of red wine, pushed Quentin back out.  
“Sit.” He motioned to the quilt they had put outside so that they could take short breaks while they worked. Eliot poured them both before taking a long swallow of wine.  
“Why are you doing this?” Quentin asked confused, while at the same time being captured by the way Eliots adams apple bobbed as he swallowed.  
“For a week you ignored me if we weren’t working on the key. What changed tonight? Why did you ignore me? I didn’t do anything to offend you, did I?”  
“Ok, I’m going to tell you something now. But it’s not something I’m comfortable with so you need to pretend not to have listened to me afterwards. But I kind of feel like you have a right to know.” Eliot took a deep breath. “I kind of had seen you before. I was at the entrance exam for Brakebills with you. I obviously didn’t make it, but they couldn’t erase my memories. It had something to so with the way my telekinesis is connected to my brain. It’s more instinctual than most magicians. They could only layer other memories over it. But those memories faded eventually. I found Margo and we kind of started this group together. She saved my life in a way. I never had someone I could trust like her. After a while I started dreaming. In my dreams I was sitting in this classroom and there was this boy. He was cute, nerdy and a bit awkward. He had long hair and at some point he started babbling something about a sixth book of some sort. I don’t know why but I immediately had a crush on him. And the more often I would dream about him, the more I crushed on him. I used to think about asking him out, going on a date with him and if I would kiss him on our first date or if I managed to wait. How his long limps and his awkward way would translate to bed and if he would want breakfast in the morning. One time, after a fight with Margo, I actually imagined how our kids would look like. And then out of no where this guy that I’m dreaming about is walking in our shop and Margo is making me go on a two week quest with him. Alone in the country.”  
“Non of this answers my question why you ignored me. It rather makes me question why you didn’t ask me out or even flirt with me? You seem like a guy who would flirt with anyone without thinking about it.”  
“I was scared. I have made a pretty picture of you in my head and that was ok as long as I knew I would never get to see you again. You were a fantasy of what I could have. But now that you are in such a close proximity … I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t risk you turning me down. I couldn’t risk you being different from the fantasy I had of you.”  
“What changed?”  
“It was too hard. I want to get to know you. I wanna know what makes you trick. I wanna know how you are different from my fantasy. And maybe that is something I could come to adore.”  
Quentin covered Eliots hand with his and leaned close to him. “Is that your very complicate way of asking me out?”  
“Yes! I’m usually so much better at that. I’ll promise I’ll be smoother …”  
Quentin didn’t let Eliot finish. He leaned in and connected their lips. The kiss was sweet and short but it apparently coughed Eliot of guard because he let the wine glass slip from his other hand.  
“Shit. Damn, this was an expensive glass.”  
Quentin gathered the pieces. “Here let me help. Minor mending, remember.” Quentin paused for a second and then continued. “I would need your help however. One of my hands is slightly occupied.” He smiled slyly and gestured towards their hands, which were now intertwined. With that they slowly performed the spell together, each carefully adjusting to the new kind of magic use of the other man. The glass mended itself and the key, laying forgotten near by, hummed low and in tune.  
“Would you look at that. I think we just solved the puzzle.” Eliot said with a soft smile on his face and his exes fixed on Quentin.  
“Yeah, I think we are going to be ok.” Quentins smile mirrored Eliots and this time Eliot leaned in to kiss Quentin.


End file.
